The crows... Part 3

#FWF Free Write Friday: Famous Last Words

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Kellie Elmore

 

“All people dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the
morning to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous
people, For they dream their dreams with open eyes, And make them come
true."

- D.H. Lawrence

My brother recited a verse off a poem by D.H. Lawrence as per the Perera family tradition at the weekly brunch table. Fortunately it was one of my favourites, so I tolerated his corniness for once without my usual constant interruptions. The table was set with my grandmother's favorite linen tablecloth, with lavish silver embroidery. My mother's silver tableware crowded the table, the ones she had brought here to Canada when we migrated. My family would usually lay out the fine china when we had important company and especially when they wanted to impress someone. Well in this situation, it was the Fernando family... Outside by the deck overlooking the peaceful lake is where we would usually entertain, provided the weather was great. Mother nature was seemingly kind to us over the last couple of days, the sky was calm with much blue and few grey clouds. The Sun was at it's peak but not too warm, as the wind picked up the gentle cool air. It was a good day to be outside.

The Fernando family was another traditional Sri Lankan family living in the city of Brampton whom unfortunately had 2 single daughters. The misfortune was my brother's and mine as they were looking to get hitched. Which meant either my brother or I was about to get pimped out by my grandmother. As my mother started to pour champagne into the glassware, it was now my turn to share with the family and guests something I found fascinating. This was an interesting form of entertainment my step dad found crucial to add on to our Sunday morning festivities. A form of entertainment my brother and I would try to mock most of the time with unusually gruesome facts. But considering the fact that there was a 99.99% chance of being the one pimped out! I decided to share a few medical facts with our boring audience.

"So... I went to the doctor yesterday and guess what!? I have IBS! That's irritable bowel syndrome for those who had no clue what is was. I guess I would be enjoying a lot of flatulence from now on... Cheers!! Back to you Joseph!"

My grandmother almost choked on her bread while my mother spat out her champagne on to my brother, Yoshi's face. The Fernando's were rather surprised by my proclamation but my step dad was beyond furious. I think one of the girls felt nauseous while the other found it funny. Now there's a girl after my own heart, one with a good sense of humor. My attention was quickly drawn to my step dad who was either about to explode due to the intense anger he was bottling up or suffering from a bout of constipation. His eyebrows were directed toward his nose as his forehead wrinkled like an old ladies' macerated skin. Staring at my face with his habitual look of disapproval, he implied his disgust. That was nothing new to me! Mr. Fernando being one of his close work buddies, Joseph probably felt embarrassed by my act of oversharing.

My brother, on the other hand was drenched in a mixture of saliva and champagne, yet he couldn't help but snigger after seeing Joseph's face. My grandma was amazing at defusing potential family calamities like this, after seeing the old demon's face she jumped in with an awkward shrill of a laugh. 

"HAAAAA HEEE HAAAAA NNNNNHHEHEE!"

Personally I felt like she had swallowed that ugly cat of hers.

"My grandson can be quite the joker. Well let's not get distracted by his charm... Let us toast to our health and get to this lovely meal Joeanna has prepared for us."

"CHEERS!" roared the masses and suddenly the spoons, forks and knifes started to clutter the dishes. Devouring the meat, potatoes and the immense variety of cooked vegetables, my mum had prepared was a prerogative for me, especially after I moved out of the house. My cooking was still under crucial implementation, which my mum knew. A fact I was quite embarrassed about after giving my ex food poisoning. So my mum would always make it a point to prepare a great feast every Sunday when I would visit. Unfortunately for me the dead crow this morning, put me off all the food!

An awkward silence snuck up on all of us as everyone start to occupy their mouths with the food on the table. My mum's food often did that to people, but this was different. The breeze was much colder and I could feel shivers sprint along my skin to my spine. I looked toward the direction of the lake and saw deep grey clouds storm the horizon, like a team of horses galloping toward us. The silence was quickly interrupted by a faint "CAW!".

Then... "caw, cawww CAWWW!!" I would hear them from every direction, a murder of crows every where I'd look.